Bellator Inks EliteXC Veteran Quach

In yet another move to solidify its burgeoning featherweight
division, Bellator Fighting Championships on Friday announced it
had signed EliteXC, Strikeforce and Affliction veteran Bao Quach. Terms
of the deal were not disclosed.

“During the last three years, Bao has established himself as a
fighter with devastating world-class striking abilities,” Bellator
founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said in a release. “The level of his
striking and kickboxing is at the highest level in MMA. Once he
really started to take the sport seriously, the results began to
speak for themselves. If he maintains this level of focus, he could
be very hard to beat at 145.”

A Colin Oyama protégé, Quach has posted 11 wins 12 fights, losing
only to current World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight L.C. Davis in
that span. A potent striker, he holds notable victories against UFC
veteran Douglas
Evans and former WEC champion Cole
Escovedo; Quach fought the world-ranked Hatsu Hioki
to a draw in 2006.

The son of two California-based Vietnamese physicians, Quach has
not been finished since being knocked out by a head kick from
former International Fight League featherweight titleholder
Wagnney
Fabiano in June 2006. His parents, he admits, would have
preferred he chosen another line of work.

“My parents, honestly, are not thrilled with the idea that I’m a
professional fighter,” Quach said. “They wanted me, I think, to be
a doctor or a lawyer. But that’s OK. This is something I truly
love, and, sometimes, you have to go your own way and do what’s
right for yourself.”